Video games are extremely popular. As a result of advances in technology, physical activity of a player can be incorporated into a video game (e.g., Nintendo's® Wii™) Players of video games involving physical activity and/or movement are typically limited to playing the games within restricted environments. For example, players of many gaming systems interact with the gaming system via wired and/or wireless controllers. The controllers have a limited range, thus, limiting physical video games to indoor use within a limited range from a gaming console and/or home entertainment system. Even wireless controllers limit game play to a small portion of a room by ultra short-range signals used to allow a player to see the video monitor. Often game consoles must be positioned on a stable, flat surface, and require 110 volt connections to a power supply. These characteristics leave gaming consoles with little to no portability.
Multiplayer versions of video games involving physical movement typically allow multiple players to compete against one another. Players may be located within one physical area, with simultaneous access to one gaming console, or may be located at various physical areas and link up over a network such as the Internet. Despite the physical distance separating them, players engaged in a multiplayer game from different physical locations still have the above described limited movement restriction imposed upon them. Further, these games typically rely on the constant presence of wireless and/or wireline network connectivity. If access to the network is interrupted, for even very short periods of time, the multiplayer gaming experience can be deteriorated or lost altogether. Thus, it is sometimes not possible to enjoy multiplayer gaming involving physical movement at all, for example in a remote geographic area with limited or no network service available.